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Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. — Six weeks ago Monday, Detroit Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski interviewed Brad Ausmus, the only one of the four managerial candidates whom he didn’t know at all.

Today, Ausmus gave a display of the eloquence, knowledge and poise that must have knocked Dombrowski over in that interview and won him the job.

The setting today was Dombrowski’s first daily press briefing at the annual winter meetings. As usual, Dombrowski hosted Tigers beat writers in his hotel suite with the team’s manager sitting by his side.

This marked Ausmus’ first face-to-face meeting with Tigers reporters since his introductory press conference. That occasion was filled with statements of overview, background and elation. Today’s get-together resembled the kind of give-and-take on nuts-and-bolts issues that a manager has with reporters daily during the season.

Ausmus spoke not as someone with any uncertainty heading into his first managerial job, but rather with the logic and confidence of someone already comfortable in the role:

■ On his three-hitters-for-two-spots choice atop the order among Austin Jackson, Torii Hunter and newcomer Ian Kinsler, Ausmus said: “I’ve manipulated it in my mind, but until we know exactly what we have, that can change. No decision has to be made on that until the first game of the season.” (When he talked about “exactly what we have,” Ausmus showed he already knows that Dombrowski is never done trying to make moves. At the moment, that caveat appears to apply to leftfield most of all, perhaps followed by the bullpen.)

■ Ausmus said that infield coach Omar Vizquel will visit Nick Castellanos before spring training to assess how Castellanos is doing at third base. “We want to get out in front (with Nick) because he is transitioning back to third base from left field,” Ausmus said.

■ Regarding Miguel Cabrera’s making his return to first base because he considers himself a team player: “I hope the young players take it to heart — you’re never bigger than the team,” Ausmus said. “You don’t see that very often nowadays. ... That’s a great lesson for a young player.”

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■ On the difference in having an established closer as opposed to not having one: “As a player, there is a huge difference. From a team perspective, everyone is much more comfortable in the ninth inning when you have an established closer like Joe Nathan (whom the Tigers signed last week) than you would be when you have a young closer-in-the-making or closer-by-committee. I think it also trickles down to the guys who are setting up. They know, ‘Hey, Joe is going to close this out,’ so they know where they slot in.”

Jim Leyland is at the winter meetings, and Ausmus is using the occasion to talk to his predecessor. “In the last 24 hours, I’ve spoken to Jim more than in the rest of my life combined,” Ausmus said. “A lot of that is feedback on players — what he saw them being capable of. I do think having Gene (Lamont) and Jeff Jones helps tremendously. They know the personnel, and they are people whose opinions I trust.” Lamont, the bench coach, and Jones, the pitching coach, are the two coaches from Leyland’s staff whom Ausmus retained.

DIRKS WAS HURT: The Tigers now acknowledge that leftfielder Andy Dirks played this past season with a lingering injury to his right knee that he sustained in spring training. Dirks’ average and extra-base power dropped noticeably from the year before. For this coming season, everything seems possible for Dirks from full-time duty to platoon duty to not even being around.

In response to a question today, Dombrowski said it “was accurate” that Dirks’ knee gave him trouble and that “he would have had more contribution from an offensive perspective” if he had been healthy. “He finally acknowledged that it bothered him,” Dombrowski said. “A doctor looked at him. He’s done some rehab. I think it bothered him more than people would think.” Dombrowski said he wasn’t at liberty to say what exactly was wrong with Dirks’ knee but that “it was not major.”